Ratings agencies among skeptics of Schulze's plan to buy Best Buy

Richard Schulze may have trouble financing his offer to buy up all the shares of Best Buy. He'd need to take on an estimated $7 billion in debt to swing the deal. That prospect led both S&P and Fitch to further reduce Best Buy's already poor credit rating.

Richard Schulze may have trouble financing his offer to buy up all the shares of Best Buy. He'd need to take on an estimated $7 billion in debt to swing the deal. That prospect led both S&P and Fitch to further reduce Best Buy's already poor credit rating.

More than a week after he went public with his bid to take the Richfield-based electronics giant private, co-founder Richard Schulze sent a letter to the Best Buy Board of Directors requesting permission to form a group and conduct basic due diligence so that he can present a fully financed offer for the company. Schulze wrote, "you should know that I am not going away."

Best Buy founder Richard Schulze has been recruiting executives to help lead the retailer if his attempt to take the company private is successful, according to a senior Best Buy executive, Bloomberg reports. “He is talking to people he trusts,” J.D. Wilson, senior vice president of enterprise capabilities, said in an interview. “There is a small group he’d like to have with him in righting the ship. He is serious as a heart attack.”

Despite some opposition from board members, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly has agreed to let company founder Richard Schulze and his team of potential investors to interview eight to 10 key executives, the Star Tribune reports. Schulze, Best Buy's largest shareholder, has until mid-November to make a buyout offer to take the struggling Richfield-based electronics retailer private. He is under a 60-day deadline to present a proposal to the company’s Board of Directors.

Richfield-based Best Buy Co. Inc. and its founder Richard Schulze have reached an agreement that gives Schulze permission to review the company's financials and form an investment group to finalize an official takeover bid, Forbes reports. If the initial proposal is rejected, Schulze has agreed to wait until January 2013 to pursue his plan to buy the struggling electronics giant. Schulze has 60 days to present a fully financed definitive proposal to Best Buy's Board of Directors.

Best Buy founder Richard Schulze is reportedly looking to remove company board members who are fighting his attempt to purchase the struggling retailer. At the same time, Best Buy has resumed talks with Schulze about giving him access to their books as he and his fellow investors pursue their takeover bid.

Richard Schulze wants more time before making an offer for Best Buy, the company that he founded. Reuters reports Schulze, who has been working on his offer for months, is expected to take a 30-day extension to mid-December before submitting his final purchase proposal to Best Buy's board. Citing sources close to Schulze, the Star Tribune reported that his bid would come next week.